Even though you can’t see any precipitation on radar tonight across the Southeast, the computer models and forecasters are sure it is coming and that it is going to be messy. The models all agree that a Gulf low will be forming in the next day and wrapping cold air and wet, wintry weather around it as it moves west to east across the region before turning up the East Coast. The models are not all in agreement yet but do show that the low is likely to move across Alabama and Georgia on Friday, dropping snow, sleet, and freezing rain in areas to the north of the low and a cold rain to the south. The timing of the type of the precipitation is difficult to determine because it depends on intricate details of the vertical temperature structure of the atmosphere that will determine if you get snow, sleet, or freezing rain. Or maybe it will be too warm where you are and all you will see is rain.
The type of precipitation is likely to change over time as the layers of the atmosphere change in response to the local conditions around the low pressure center as it interacts with our topography. For example, in Athens GA, we are likely to see snow starting on Friday morning, but it is expected to transition to mixed wintry precipitation with snow, sleet, and freezing rain before it becomes all freezing rain later in the day as warm air overrides a shallow layer of air with freezing temperatures at the surface. We may experience freezing rain overnight into Saturday before it switches back to snow for a few hours in the wrap-around cold air that moves in as the low moves east. Precipitation is likely to end here by around noon on Saturday, although it will continue to be cold and windy after the precipitation stops.
Of course, what you experience will depend on your location and what the specific weather conditions are there. At this point in time, the best thing you can do is watch the updated forecasts from your local National Weather Service office for what is likely to happen at your location. You can find information on how to access their graphical hourly forecasts at https://site.extension.uga.edu/climate/2018/03/where-to-get-hourly-weather-forecast-information/. See the example below for Athens. You can also follow trusted on-air meteorologists like James Spann in Alabama and Brad Panovich in North Carolina for more local information on social media. Make sure that you keep looking at updated forecasts, since old forecasts are likely to be bad forecasts since they are not including the latest observations and computer models. Your local NWS office is also likely to be providing social media and YouTube videos like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2C7sUmBkNk (for Georgia) that will give you trustworthy and updated information. This will be the last update I plan to provide because you should be getting your information at this point from your local experts.
